HUSBAND and wife team Keith and Joyce Beard have been giving up a few hours every few weeks to read for the Talking Newspaper for about 15 years.

It was Keith, a 75-year-old retired director, who first dipped his toe into the charity and he soon encouraged Joyce, a 73-year-old retired school secretary to follow.

"I was a member of a Probus group and the Reading Newspaper contacted us for volunteers. It was only once every seven weeks so I volunteered - and am still doing it now. When we needed some more volunteers a few months later I suggested Joyce do it as well."

The couple, of Sutton Coldfield, enjoy their time with the team.

"We are on a specific team and we all sit round the table and read the pieces which we are given from various newspapers," says Keith. "But there is no set rule for reading. I think we all read differently and we do make mistakes- usually we have only had a brief look at the article beforehand.

"We have a lot of fun at the recording and there is no pressure involved. It is a way of putting something back into society."

And Joyce adds: "It is interesting and very satisfying and we get to meet such nice people."